Ritzenhein, who attended Rockford High School in Rockford, Michigan, told Peter J. Wallner, “It’s something that’s always been in the back of my mind, and it would only get harder as our kids get older.” Ritzenhein and his wife, Kalin Toedebusch, have two children: daughter Addison is 6 and son Jude is 3. “And no matter what, I always wanted to come back to west Michigan and Grand Rapids area.”

Ritzenhein is in Grand Rapids this week for the Fifth Third River Bank Run. He told Wallner he will continue to be a Nike-sponsored athlete and continue to work with coach Alberto Salazar. He’ll just do his training in Grand Rapids.

On Friday, Ritzenhein tweeted: "Just to clarify with my move to MI, I will no longer be with @OregonPJT but will still be with @Nike and Alberto will be an advisor."

“They [Nike] just want to see me succeed,” Ritzenhein said. “I’ll be happier here, and I’ll do better here.”

An Olympian in 2004, 2008 and 2012, Ritzenhein is the third-fastest marathoner in American history. He ran 2:07:47 at the Chicago Marathon in 2012. He was also the top American in the 2008 Olympic marathon, when he finished ninth overall. Currently, he is recovering from a sports hernia, which forced him to withdraw from the Boston Marathon in April.

Ritzenhein told Wallner he has not decided where he will live, and he will continue to volunteer with the University of Oregon track team until the season ends. In Michigan, he said he will serve as a volunteer assistant at Grand Valley State.

"This has nothing to do with Portland or my relationship with Alberto or anything like that," Ritzenhein said. "It's just a matter of it was time."